News

One man and his organic plot has returned for another season. Chris will be on hand delivering his advice throughout the season. He'll guide us through his growing projects and will be keeping us updated on the progression of his much loved allotment.

Tea leaves are a good addition to the compost heap. However, tea bags are not. We have updated our advice on composting tea bags, with the knowledge that most bags include very small amounts of plastic.

In a new and comprehensive report, The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), confirms that neonicotinoid pesticides seriously affect pollinators such as bees. This report will boost the call for tighter regulation of the chemicals.The current EU/UK ban on just three neonics ran out last year. Garden Organic has consistently campaigned for the ban to be extended. “This report certainly strengthens the case for further restrictions on neonicotinoid use,” writes Prof Dave Goulson of the University of Sussex, Brighton.

Further to the statement below, posted on Tuesday 13th February, we can confirm that we have now received a number of expressions of interest in our site at Ryton, from wide ranging sources and for a variety of purposes.

At the moment these expressions of interest contain only headline information with minimal detail. The next step will be to meet with interested parties and begin discussions to understand the detail behind each one. This will be a complex and potentially lengthy process but as and when we have any further updates we will continue to publish them on our website.

France has announced that by 2022 at least half of all food bought by the public sector must be organic or locally produced. This includes food bought for use in schools, hospitals and prisons. The French Agricultural Minister Stéphane Travert announced the new rules as part of measures to boost the French farming sector, and to improve diets.

Garden Organic yesterday hosted the third meeting of the Southwark Food Power Alliance as part of the charity’s London Food Poverty – Southwark project, helping to fight food insecurity in the London Borough of Southwark.

There is much research into the differences between organic and chemically grown foods. As well as plenty of anecdotal evidence that growing and eating organic foods is beneficial to health. But proving this scientifically can be difficult. This article, by Garden Organic Trustee Dr Andrew Collins, explores some recent research.

IFOAM (International Federation of Organic Agricultural Movements) has published a position paper on the new genetic engineering techniques. The aim is provide clarity on what breeding techniques are compatible with organic systems. This comes at a crucial time when these new breeding techniques (NBTs) are under consideration by EU lawmakers as to whether they should be treated in the same way as GMOs.